[NEohioPAL] Berko preview: FALL THEATRE OFFERINGS

Tue Aug 24 19:03:14 PDT 2010

THE FALL THEATRE SEASON BECKONS

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview 
Times            

--coolcleveland.com—

Fall is coming and the theatres of Northeastern Ohio are about to raise their 
curtains on what should be an exciting season.  Support the arts!

ACTORS’ SUMMIT THEATRE
Greystone Hall, 103 S. High Street, Akron (note the theatre’s new venue)
TICKETS:  330-374-7568, info: actorssumit.org

A MURDER, A MYSTERY & A MARRIAGE
October 14-Nov 7
A Mark Twain inspired folk musical.

 A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Nov 26-Dec 29
A touring troupe of players uses mime, imagination and storytelling to bring 
Dickens’s famous holiday tale to life.

BECK CENTER
17801 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood
Tickets:  216-521-2540 or www.beckcenter.org

MY FAIR LADY
Sept 17-Oct 17
Lerner and Loewe’s award winning musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s 
PYGMALION.

WINGS
Oct 8-Nov 7
Dorothy Silver, Cleveland’s grande dame of theatre, stars in Arthur Kopit’s play 
about a woman who has a life-shattering stroke.

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT
Dec 3-Jan 2
The rock/western/country musical that retells the biblical story of Joseph.

CESEAR’S FORUM
Kennedy’s Down Under—Playhouse Square
Tickets:  216-241-6000 or www.playhousesquare.org

ALL THAT FALL
Sept 10-Oct 16
Samuel Beckett’s psychological and physical one-day journey of an elderly man 
which takes place in a radio studio enhancing the aural technical requirements 
of storytelling.

CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE
6415 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland
Tickets:  216-631-2727

PANDEMONIUM 10:  The Wild Side
Saturday, Sept 11, 7pm
Tickets:  $125
Cleveland Public Theatre’s annual fundraising extravaganza!  Features dozens of 
the areas’ theatre, dance, and visual performers, along with fabulous food and 
drink.

THE BOOK OF GRACE—Levin Theatre
Sept 30-Oct 16
Suzan-Lori Park’s multi-layered tale of terrorism, borders, families and the 
consequences of history.

DON’T CALL ME FAT—Gordon Square Theatre
Oct 7-30
A world premiere penned by artist-in-residence Ozen Yulai, an internationally 
acclaimed Turkish writer, which follows one man from obesity to celebrity.

KILL WILL—Storefront Studio Theatre
Oct 14-30
Back by popular demand!  Murder, Revenge, Suicide, Cannibalism

OPERA PER TUTTI PRESENTS: IL TABARRO—James Levine Theatre
Oct 22-24
A one-act operatic drama by master composer Giacomo Puccini tells the story of 
love, desperation and violence.

CONNI’S AVANT GARDE RESTAURANT
Dec 2-19
Hailed as ‘dinner theatre of the absurd” it mixes the ingredients of fine food, 
wine and a send-up of avant-garde pomposity.

CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
8500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland
Tickets:  216-795-7000 or www.clevelandplayhouse.com

THE 39 STEPS
Sept 17 - OCT 10—Drury Theatre
A quick-witted and acrobatic cast of four creates over 150 characters in thisone 
part Hitchcock masterpiece, one part juicy spy novel, and a bit of Monty Python 
comedy. 

F.D.R.
Sept. 25
Ed Asner (Lew Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”) stars in a one-man show as 
the 32nd U.S. president.  Tickets for the CPH fund-raiser are $95 (including 
premium seating and a reception with Asner) and $50 for only the performance.

THE KITE RUNNER
Oct 15-Nov 7—Bolton Theatre
Based on the acclaimed novel, the play goes inside an Afghanistan few of us 
know, and shows the human face beneath the headlines with a tale of friendship, 
family and redemption.

THIS WONDERFUL LIFE
Nov 26-Dec 19—Drury Theatre
James Leaming stars in a one-man adaptation of Frank Capra’s beloved classical 
film.

CONVERGENCE-CONTINUUM
The Liminis 2438 Scranton Road, Tremont            
Tickets:  216-687-0074

SAY YOU LOVE SATAN
Sept 3-25
A comic tale of temptation by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.

BRAIN PEOPLE
Oct 15-Nov 13
Jose Rivera’s drama in which a lonely heiress invites two strangers to a strange 
feast commemorating the death of her parents.
DOBAMA THEATRE
2340 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights
Tickets:  216-932-3396

THE WALWORTH FARCE
Sept 9-Oct 3
A tender insight into what happens when we become stuck in the stories we tell 
about our lives.

DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE
Oct 29-Nov 21
A new play by award-winning Sarah Ruhl which traces one woman’s accidental quest 
to make a few people feel just a little bit better about themselves.

EDGES
Nov 22
A staged reading by Baldwin Wallace College students at Dobama.

THE NEW CENTURY
December 10-January 9, New Year’s Eve Bash on December 31
A Paul Rudnick comedy, which raises questions not easily answered.

GREAT LAKES THEATER FESTIVAL
Hanna Theatre
Tickets:  216-241-6000 or www.greatlakestheater.org

OTHELLO
Sept 24-Oct 31
Shakespeare’s supreme villain meets literature’s most tragic hero in one of the 
greatest classic tragedies.

AN IDEAL HUSBAND
Oct 1-30
Oscar Wilde’s romantic, convoluted comedy of manners, which examines the 
crossroads where money, power and ethics collide.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL—Ohio Theatre
Dec 3-23
Charles Dickens’classic tale of one man’s redemption.

KARAMU 
2355 East 89th Street
Tickets:  216-795-7077 or www.karamuhouse.org

FORECLOSURE
Sept 17-Oct 10—Jelliffe Theatre
A performance piece which combines poetry and photography to examine the local 
foreclosure crisis.

Oct 29-Nov 21—Arena Theatre
 FROM BREAST CANCER TO BROADWAY
A musical consisting of eleven stories of cancer survivors.

BLACK NATIVITY
Dec 10-Dec 30
Clevelander and Karamu alumni Langston Hughes’ gospel musical, told with dancing 
and verse.

PLAYHOUSESQUARE CENTER
Downtown Cleveland
Tickets: www.playhousesquare.orgor 216-241-6000
DIXIE’S TUPPERWARE PARTY  
Sept 29-Oct 31--14thStreet Theatre
Dixie Longate returns to throw good ol' fashioned Tupperware parties filled with 
outrageous tales, giveaways and audience participation.

BLUE MAN GROUP
Oct 5-17—Palace Theatre
Escape the ordinary and surround yourself in an explosion of comedy, music, and 
technology with this high-octane theatrical experience. (Part of the Key Bank 
Broadway series.)

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS
Oct 16—Ohio Theatre
A wickedly witty adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from 
a demon’s point of view.

LEGALLY BLONDE
Oct 22-24—Palace Theatre
A musical based on the hilarious MGM film which centers on Elle Woods, and why 
it’s not a good idea to underestimate the mind of a “dumb blonde.”

CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Nov 4-21--14thStreet Theatre 
Features a comedic ensemble acting out the actual memoirs of a wide range of 
celebrities, in the celebs own words.

BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL
Nov 19–Dec 12-=-State Theatre
The winner of 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, this
is a joyous celebration of one young boy’s journey to make his dreams come true. 
  (Part of the Key Bank Broadway series.)

THE SANTA LAND DIARIES
Nov 26 – Dec 19--14thStreet Theatre
Cleveland Public Theatre presents David Sedaris’ comedy about a33-year-old 
slacker who takes a job as a Macy's Christmas elf and uses his position to teach 
parents and children the realities of holiday cheer.

MY MOTHER’S ITALIAN, MY FATHER’S JEWISH, AND I’M HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Dec 9-11--Hanna Theatre
Comedian Steve Solomon arrives home to celebrate the holidays, and is thrown 
together with all of his dysfunctional relatives in a riotous celebration. 
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 
2010, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at 
http://royberko.info
His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to 
subscribe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)